In memory of their service: The nation takes a moment to remember and honor its heroes

JAY SCHLICHTER

3:17 PM, May 21, 2014

They died fighting for our freedoms.

Memorial Day is a time to observe and reflect on those who lost their lives serving in conflicts near and abroad. The statistics of Americans killed in wars are staggering.

Roughly 25,000 died in the American Revolutionary War, an estimated 750,000 in the U.S. Civil War, 116,516 in World War I, 405,399 in World War II, 36,516 in the Korean War, 58,209 in the Vietnam War, and 6,717 — so far — combined in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

Two Southwest Florida residents could have easily been one of those numbers. But they overcame and survived insurmountable odds as prisoners of war, suffering myriad forms of torture at the hands of their captors.

The last Monday in May each year is set aside to remember the men and women who died serving in the Armed Forces.

This week, we honor their service and sacrifice by sharing stories of two men who survived to tell the tales that their fellow servicemen and women weren't able.